The White Dragneel
by OneWhoCharms
Summary: A series of drabbles about the prince of Alvarez, Rakheid Dragneel, ranging from fluffy to angsty. Mainly focusing on his upbringing and childhood and some post fairy tail later down the line. Please R&R
1. Friends

AN: this is the first in a series of random durables that will centre around Rakheid/Larcade and mostly his upbringing, shout out to Keiid who's amazing art was a huge inspiration. This is a one shot for now but if there is demand I will supply.

It started out as just childish little arguments, the very first time the prince of Alvarez met the country demolisher they'd been eight years old.

He'd gone to the library to collect a book for his studies and had been taken by surprise to see another child in the castle, when they first saw each other they narrowed their eyes and gave the one in front them appraising looks.

She was the first to break the silence "What's that ugly symbol on your head for?"

"What are those stupid crosses on your head for?" He responded.

That was the beginning of Rakheids first friendship. He wasn't really sure how it progressed from that point, maybe it was just the fact that they were the youngest in the castle, maybe it was because their hearts were broken in similar ways, but they always seemed to end up spending time together.

It was simple enough things at first, they one of them would seek the other out because they wanted to get the last word in the argument they'd had yesterday, Rakheid had decided that was one of the things he liked about Brandish, he was used to being able to say whatever he wanted either because the people around him didn't care or they wouldn't dare speak back to his majesty's son, but Brandish was just so... phlegmatic, she had genuine reaction to things so rarely that it bordered on apathetic, but in Rakheid's mind that only made it more amusing when her eyes would light up over the memory of her favourite star-mango gelato from back home, or when she enlarged a squirrel from the gardens to the size of a dog and had then locked it in a tight hug and rubbed her cheek against its squirming head, chanting "He's so fluffy wuffy." His favourite was how she would smile at lord August, mainly because of the faces August would make at Rakheid when he commented on it during their training periods.

XxxxxxxX

By the time they were teenagers they had achieved power levels that moved them from prodigies to serious threats to anyone who would stand against the empire. All members of the Spriggan 12 had been brought together for the first time, assembled by Zeref himself.

"Today is your opportunity," he began "to prove your worth and your strength. Show me you deserve a place among my elite"

He set them all the same mission, add a country to the Alvarez empire, should they succeed they would return to a position in the emperors inner circle, should they fail, don't come back.

Rakheid was the last person to leave the room, Eileen and Dimaria had sauntered out of the room in confidence, Whal, Ajeel and Nineheart left with a bit more of a spring in their step, August, Serena and Invel strode out with purpose. Rakheid was about to leave as well when Zeref stepped into the space beside his son.

"I expect great things from you Rakheid." He said in his usual measured tone. He then clapped his hand on Rakheid's shoulder before leaving.

Rakheid stayed there for a long while after that. When he was a small child he had hugged his father on impulse before before remembering why he couldn't get that close to him, but this was the first time that his father had touched him. He was shaken. After he finally managed to compose himself Rakheid set out to achieve great things.

XxxxxxxxxxX

Two years after that day, two years after twelve new countries had been added to the empire, Brandish and Rakheid met again for the first time in two years.

After Rakheid had returned to Alvarez he was told by that Brandish had been placed in charge of her own brigade and would be stationed with them for an indefinite amount of time. Rakheid wasn't usually the type to glare but based on the way the man was practically shaking in his boots he guessed he must have been doing just that. He left the man, returned to his room, and began reacquainting himself with being alone.

In the present Rakheid found himself exactly where he'd been when he was eight years old.

"What are you wearing? It looks like you wrapped a blanket around yourself it's hideous." Still as blunt and waspish as ever.

He raised an eyebrow at her, "Well at least I'm wearing clothes."

Her hair was the same as when he last saw her, but her attire seemed to have changed from the printed dresses she used to wear to a bikini and fur lined coat.

They started each other off just like they used too before Brandish sat down at one of the tables and set a small pill sized object which at the snap of her fingers inflated to the reveal a bowl of an orange creamy substance, she pulled two spoons out of nowhere and placed one on the other side of the table, when she took a bite and her eyes lit up he could tell that it was the gelato she spoke of so fondly in their youth, the white Dragneel smiled.

XxxxxxxxxX

In the time leading up to the war with Fairy tail they would see each other less and less, and when the war was over and the dust was settled he found himself reflecting on his life and the house his mother had built and he wondered what it would be like to have grown up like that, who would he be now if he had? Would he be happier? Was there anything in his life that he would miss? Would he have had real friends?

He thought of his childhood with Brandish, the glimpse of what could have been.

Would he miss his father?

...

You could spend all day thinking about possibilities and it still wouldn't change what had already happened. So Rakheid picked up the pieces of himself and looked towards the future, and the life he could still make for himself.


	2. Mother and Father

_A.N. sorry it's been so long since my last post but thank you all for reading and thank you to xLeTal for following. Now given the most recent chapters of the manga a few things have both been cleared up about Rakheid and a few things have been thrown out the window. In order to keep going with this story I'm going to try and incorporate the canon story with my own headcannon, if you have any questions about details I may have missed please feel free to leave them in a review and I will try to answer it as best I can (please note this offer is not extended to flames). Now without further ado, please enjoy the latest chapter._

* * *

He'd always known of the peculiarity of his birth, that the way he came into the world wasn't like other children his age.

He was a little bit older now, starting to leave boyhood behind but with a ways to go before he could call himself a man. His father had allowed him the gift of his company, the emperor was a busy man, but for a little while in the old days his father would stand by the balcony in the gardens while Rakheid sat on the other side of the veranda.

His training in magic was coming along and he was beginning to show power and promise, he realised that was the reason for his fathers visits, it was a status report, and despite how hard Rakheid tried not to think about it, an incentive to keep getting stronger.

But regardless of his ulterior motives his father was here with him, that was all that mattered. Zeref would ask him about his training and his studies with a stoic face but a voice that wasn't unkind, Rakheid would tell him in detail about his progress, about how he was finding magic that could manipulate emotions very interesting, and sometimes he was able to slip in small details about his day so he could pretend they were having an actual conversation, how Lady Eileen had been speaking with God Serena in a tone like a disappointed mother, or how Brandish was now spending all her time with Dimaria and that bothered him for reasons he didn't quite understand.

But his favourite part of these meetings was when his father allowed him to ask questions, about his past or his current affairs, sometimes these would lead into stories. Mostly they were either about how he met the other spriggans or about his deceased family, there was something about the way his fathers voice softened when he spoke of his little brother Natsu that set a spark of envy blooming in his chest.

One day without really thinking he asks "Father, why don't I look like you?"

Zeref goes very still for a few heartbeats, you'd almost think he'd left his body. But then he stands abruptly and moves towards the door, Rakheid has learned that this means their time together is over and he probably won't see his father for a long time after this, but then something so foreign to all their previous interactions happened,

"Come with me, Rakheid." Zeref ordered without turning.

It took Rakheid's mind a moment to process what he'd just heard before scrambling to catch up with his father.

Rakheid followed him through various halls doorways until arriving in a lavished bedroom which he eventually realised belonged to the emperor himself. Zeref moved to one of his bedside tables and opened its drawer, he pulled out a single rectangular card and held it at arms length in front of Rakheid.

He recognised it as one of the cards from a rejenca deck, it depicted a young woman with a serene expression and her hands clasped together over her heart while the rest of the picture was taken up by her long, flowing blonde tresses, the goddess.

"This picture is based off the visage of a girl I once knew." Zeref began to speak, but this tone of voice was something Rakheid had never heard before, like his father was speaking of something reverent.

"Her name was Mavis Vermillion, she was a brilliant wizard and founder of a Fioreian guild called fairy tail. This is your mother Rakheid."

All the breath left Rakheid's lungs and his vision narrowed down to that single card. Had the picture always been this detailed?

This was his mother? How could he have a mother when he was one of Zeref's demons? Father said 'was' did that mean she was dead? Had fathers curse killed her?

The questions ran through his mind like river rapids and he was trying to try and decide which one to ask and how to make his tongue work again. But then his father did what an emporor does and demanded the rooms attention.

"I can't love you Rakheid." A simple statement, something they were both well aware of. But it still sunk in his chest like a stone.

"Lest you fall victim to my curse, I never will. But I made you in the image of someone I loved, someone who was a much better person than I am, that is the greatest affection I can give you."

And with that his father left him alone, alone with a painted image of his dead mother.

XxxxxxxxxxxxxxX

Rakheid was unique in comparison to his other demons.

More powerful obviously, but there was also this slight evolution in consciousness, all the members of tartoros were single minded in their dedication to fulfilling their purpose of killing him, and they looked on him in awe as their creator.

Rakheid thought of Zeref as his father, despite knowing his true nature, despite knowing that having any love for him was a death sentence. This served as the basis for a wholly different but just as devout dedication to Zeref, but Rakheid was growing up, becoming an actual person, and with that came the risk of independent thought. He had realised a while ago that little motivations like this helped keep things in order. Like over sips of water to a man dying of thirst.

Telling him about Mavis may have been a bold choice but if he was going to create a fake mother for this fake son it could only have been her. Mavis was the only one.


	3. Fairies

_A.N. : Hello again and thank you for reading, first a thank you to xLeTal for their review and a shout out to Keiid for allowing me to be inspired by her art._

 _Well I had to write this chapter sooner or later, let's hope it all goes well._

* * *

Hurt

Everything hurt

Why was this happening? Why was he doing this? Father?

And then, it was over.

One minute all of his senses were screaming in agony, then he felt the engulfing embrace of dark magic. A few moments later Rakheid opened his eyes.

He was no longer in fairy tail, he reached out with his senses for the magic power of any of his comrades but this place was so empty he doubted he was even still in Fiore.

The sky above him was bright, blue and cloudless, he shifted his hands to the ground and felt a soft cushioned surface, with not as much effort as he thought it would have taken he sat up and looked at his surroundings, he was in an open field, not one of grass but golden wheat, there was a breeze coming from somewhere that sent ripples across the surface, making it look like it was shimmering.

Rakheid looked down at himself, that his injuries were gone was the first thing he noticed, his robes were clean of their tears and his blood. It was like the war had never happened.

But it had.

He had been defeated. He had failed his empire. He'd failed his father. His father...

Oh.

Now he remembered.

His body felt lighter than he could ever remember it being, but he still felt so very tired in that moment.

"What are you doing?"

The voice was young and feminine, he twisted around to see its source. Standing behind him was a brown haired girl in an orange dress, she didn't look any older than thirteen. She stood a few feet behind him was a relaxed posture, her hands clasped behind her back. Her coffee coloured eyes watched him with some emotion he didn't recognise.

"Given my circumstances I think I have much more of a right to ask you that question." He said to her, he was to tired and confused by his surroundings to try and sound intimidating, so he just turned around fully and crossed his legs into a lotus position so that they were both looking at each other.

The girl drew her lips into a tight line, and a hot shade of red began crawling up her cheeks. She began to shake on the spot, like she was trying to hold in an explosive force.

Rakheid arched an eyebrow at her "Are you okay?"

At that a squeak of embarrassment escaped her lips and she spun around quickly crouching down onto her knees and covering her face in her hands.

"I'm sorry! I'm just not good around new people!" She sobbed.

Rakheid had no words for this, he took another look around, trying to see if the girl had some near by parents, or friends, or psychiatrist he could return her too. But in every direction there were just fields of gold. So this was his life now huh?

Sighing out a deep breath, Rakheid adjusted his posture and resigned himself to his current situation.

"If you're so uncomfortable with people," he asked in a measured tone "then why did you come over here?"

He didn't bother asking where she had come from or if she knew where they were, but he figured he was going to have to take it slowly with this one.

Hearing his question she stopped her panic attack and peeked a glance at him over her shoulder, apparently deeming him non threatening she shifted into a sitting position facing him, she pulled her legs close to her chest, looping her arms under her thighs and resting her chin on her knees. The red blush remained covering the lower half of her face but was a considerably subdued shade.

"I-I thought it might be different with you." She admitted,

"And why is that?"

"You..." she buried her face a little further behind her knees. "You remind me of someone I used to know." She spoke in the same voice as if she were confiding a precious memory.

Rakheid softened in that moment, the slight waver in the girls voice was familiar to him, he had heard it come from himself as a child, when he had weakly repeated a servants words that his father had disappeared from the country again without saying anything to him.

Rakheid looked over the girl again with new eyes, the way she held herself close, the way she had stood apart from him when they first met, how she said that she wasn't 'good around people'. Rakheid's childhood had been a far cry from what he wished it had been, lacking any kind of real connections, leaving him starved for the feeling of being loved and affection, but when he looked back on it as an adult he supposed it could have been worse. He'd had a roof over his head and food on his plate, and while he'd never truly been able to shake the sensation of loneliness and rejection that rang hollow through his bones, there had always been people around him, there had been Brandish. And even though he knew what he knew now he knew now, he couldn't help but feel that he would go through it all again for love of his father, even though his father...

But this girl. She had been completely alone. Isolated, abandoned kind of alone. Maybe his sense of empathy wasn't as dead as he thought it was because he felt a tugging in his gut, an instinctive urge to offer comfort.

"This person I remind you of," he began, "the two of you were very close?"

She made a humming noise before answering, "We were. Both of us lost our families when we were young, so for a long time all we had was each other. We grew up together in an isolated place, but one day we met people who offered to take us on an adventure," she laughed a little "she always loved adventure stories. We went out into the world with them and we saw amazing things... but in the end..."

Choosing to skip over the fact that this girl seemed to think he was reminiscent of a woman, he asked the first thing that came to mind, "Did she die?"

The girl shook her head vehemently, "No! No, we just... had to go separate ways." Her mouth turned up into a small smile, and her eyes gained a nostalgic shine. "But I'm happy for her, she got to go on so many adventures, and I left her with some good people, some good friends."

"But you still miss her."

She let go of her legs and let them fall on the ground, she set one hand on the earth beside her and the other ran a single finger along the hem of her dress.

"It's just-" she cut herself off as if she felt guilty for what she was about to say, she cut her eyes up to him and he held her gaze for a minute. He didn't know why but Rakheid felt the faintest thread of a connection to this brown haired stranger, like she was a face he hadn't seen in years, or a relative he'd never met.

She finished her confession in a whisper "Sometimes I wish we could have gone searching for fairies."

If he'd had the emotional energy, Rakheid was fairly sure he would have broken into laughter at that last word. In stories fairies were small, pretty, unimportant creatures, but it felt like they, or rather their name, had been haunting him. The mother he had never seen had lived her life in tune with the song of the fairies, and built a home for wayward souls and those children became her fairies, the guild named after an unanswered question, where everything had started, where his life had-

Was that why both of them were here together? Two souls lamenting the life they hadn't been allowed to lead. If that was the case what did he do with this information? Where did they go from here?

"If it's any consolation," he offered with a little uncertainty "I think I have a good idea how you feel."

Her expression calmed down and gained a more sere look.

"I know you do," she replied "I can see it in your eyes."

Maybe it was the way she was looking at him, or the tenderness in how she spoke but Rakheid felt shaken by this little girl, by the fact that she seemed genuinely concerned about him, which needless to say wasn't a feeling he was used to.

"We're both just a little unfinished I think." The girl continued, she inched closer to him until they were nearly face to face. "We didn't get all the pieces that everyone else got. But maybe... it could be enough that we don't have to be alone anymore."

She got to her feet and looked down at him with a warm smile, she waited for him to return it but he felt a little too shocked to move his muscles. She held out her hand to him in offering, and in that one gesture he swore she was using some kind of peace induction magic, because Rakheid felt his mind empty of all the thoughts that usually occupied it, for a master of light magic that manipulated the desires of others he had never had that many of his own, he'd had a few unreachable goals and his loyalty to Alvarez, but if that was all gone now then all he had left was what was in front of him.

He didn't reach for her hand. He got to his feet looked down at her,

"And where are you suggesting we go from here?"

Her face gained a thoughtful expression, she turned around and walked a few steps in front of her, she clasped her hands together and craned her head back to look at the sky.

"You thought to yourself that we were similar in our sadness," she said without looking back at him, before he could ask her how she knew what he had been thinking she looked back at him over her shoulder. "So how about we go searching for some happiness of our own?"

Happiness of his own.

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. For the first time in his life the only person he had to think about was himself, for the first time ever he had the chance to be his own person.

Rakheid copied the girls earlier action and held his hand out to her.

"I am Rakheid Dragn-. I am Rakheid."

He prepared himself for a handshake at best before she told him her name, but instead her smile just grew wide and open mouthed as laughter poured from her throat, she grabbed his hand (or tried to at least) in her smaller one and pulled him after her as she began to run.

They ran towards the summit of a hill, their combined footfalls and the ringing of her laughter the only sounds to fill up the air. Before he could ask her what had been on his mind since he'd seen her, she tossed one of her pig tails over her shoulder, exposing her face.

"I'm Zera!" Called out the fairy to the White Dragneel.

* * *

 _End Note: The idea for this chapter party came from a thought I had of Zera being the fairy in Rakheid's heart like she was for Mavis, and partly because I headcannon that if larcana had a kid she would look like Zera._

 _I'm a little tempted to just end the story here as it feels like a natural place to stop, I have a couple other ideas but they verge a little more into something that probably should be it's own story._

 _If this is the end for now thank you all for coming this far with me and please leave your thoughts in a review as feedback is always appreciated, maybe if something happens in the manga later I could fit in some more content so for now don't forget to follow, favourite and review, have a lovely evening._


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